Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saw that the Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo, was subjected to a “political boycott” during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, indicating that he “supports the Palestinian cause.”
Erdogan said at a youth gathering that Ronaldo and Argentine Lionel Messi cannot be compared, noting that the first was subjected to a “political boycott,” according to the official Turkish Anadolu Agency.
The Turkish president said, “They lost Ronaldo. Unfortunately, they imposed a political boycott on him. When Ronaldo enters the stadium 30 minutes before the end of the match, you destroy him psychologically and withdraw his energy from him.”
Erdogan added, “Ronaldo is a person who stands with the Palestinian cause,” he said.
Ronaldo had played as a substitute with the Portugal national team following the group stage in the Mondetail, as he entered the reserves in the matches once morest Switzerland and Morocco.
